Sven Co-op Map Reviews

       Appear in Dojo. Enemies rain from above. Hit them with your sword. SCMapDB page Authors: PU_1338 Date of release: 2007 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Dojo (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | April 26, 2026 | 1431 characters      Dojo is a short and sweet map about fighting off waves of assassins with only a crowbar retextured to be a katana. It's got some fun Kill Bill sounds and some cool samurai custom models at the end.      The enemies do have a lot of health, so the fight itself is a little bit of a slog, but we all get long jumps to start with so it is very easy to end up standing on top of the enemies and hitting down, usually gibbing them in the process. It is very fun. But also there are a lot of times when we spawn, swing about three times, and then die. It has its frustrating moments.      I think the real strength of the map is how much action it fits in a small package. If you want a shor...

      "You hit your head and now you are dreaming" of some blocky stairs covered in respawning enemies. This map really embodies early Sven Co-op, where things appear to be optimized for a rush of people. SCMapDB page Authors: JJ45 aka Aurora Date of release: 2003 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Dreamstairs (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | April 26, 2026 | 2805 characters      You hit your head and now you're in a dream … . where you climb stairs covered in respawning enemies.      My first reaction to this map was pretty negative. We start off on stairs and we climb upward, with full armor which really does help our survival, until we fight globs of enemies. Each enemy has a ton of health so its slow going and each enemy respawns so when we clear out a patch and move forward we sometimes have to deal with enemies behind us, putting us in and endless loop of being pincered.      But my teammate suggested just r...

      Welcome to The Hotel, not to be confused with Hotel, a horror adventure set in a single building. It's a simple map with a couple of surprises, some good and some bad.  SCMapDB page Authors: W00tguy123 Date of release: 2007 Maps in package: 1 Map review of The Hotel (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | April 25, 2026 | 3594 characters      A horror map from 2007, 19 years ago, I did not have high expectations going in. But the map starts on a cutscene, a car drives in and the wheels are actually spinning! It takes a turn and … is it leaning into the curves? Did the map author model suspension in 2007????      This map knows how to set atmosphere and create a scene. The opening cutscene instantly draws me in and we get a really nicely made cutscene every time we accomplish an objective. This did kill me a lot, as I was running from zombies as my teammates soldiered on. There are creepy ambient sounds, custom zombie model...

      Welcome to the Nuclear Power Plant, a short mod for the original Half-Life from the ancient year of 1999 ported to Sven Co-op in the modern age. As the name implies, it is a nuclear power plant, and since this is a shooting game, we get to fight in the power plant. SCMapDB page Original map author: Alexei Frolov Conversion author: Reuniclus-579 Date of original mod release: 1999 Date of final Sven Map release: 2026 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Nuclear Power Plant (originally posted on SCMapDB)  by GrandmasterJ | April 25, 2026 | 2898 characters      The starting area of the map is a room with a barney and two HEV suits in weird spiky cages. There are two buttons, one opens the cage for the HEV suit on the right and the other button seems nonfunctional, I could not open the cage on the left. Anyway, we opened the cage on the right, lured in the barney, closed the cage, and I think that alone is going to boost the score for this map.  ...

      Do you like history? Do you like Albania? Then you might like this map, a recreation of a famous (to Albanians maybe) battle from history! Defend the fortress from . . . cockroaches? SCMapDB page Authors: Grunt Date of release: 2024 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Battle of Albulena (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | April 19, 2026 | 2013 characters      So here I am browsing random maps when I see a map that looks kind of interesting. It's got a thumbnail with some historical art and we get a blurb about Albanians defending against Ottomans in a historical recreation, seems cool. But uh, the other screenshots looks like we're burning roaches with flamethrowers… . I install the map and the .wad is called turkroaches, uh ooh.      Then we start the map and the roaches are called turkroaches straight up in the map itself. I feel the need to say that I do not condone racism in any form and this map definitely felt off becaus...

       Clearly inspired by the popular backrooms horror trope, players must navigate a shifting maze and run from a chase monster before doing something or other that may or may not beat the map.  SCMapDB page Authors: Grunt Date of release: 2025 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Host_Error (originally posted on SCMapDB) by dunkelschwamm | April 19, 2026 | 2258 characters      This is a neat little scripting showcase based on the backrooms phenomenon. You and your friends can run around in a backrooms area being chased by a teleporting black gargoyle who sometimes kills you, sometimes is just cheeky. There are some hints about how if you don't run the space will be less hostile, but I didn't find any kind of behavior did much to change how often the black gargoyle would appear and attack.      After meandering around with my buddy until we were both picked off by the monster one-by-one, we tried again with cheats to see if we could f...

     I'm starting to think the third L in the title is a typo. Icon of Hell(l?) is a conversion of a mod with a lot of futuristic and archaic visuals all thrown together in an interesting linear experience. It's also got custom models and scripted weapons which really help sell that this is as a new experience. SCMapDB page Original map author: Lefront Conversion author: Reuniclus-579 Date of original mod release: 2013 Date of final Sven Map release: 2024 Maps in package: 7 Map review of Icon of Helll (originally posted on SCMapDB)  by GrandmasterJ | April 29, 2026 | 4593 characters      Let's start with an obligatory 'I have not played the original mod' for this conversion so I don't know how the original plays. There are a few areas where a checkpoint would not have been unnoticed and some places where it seems players are expected to just die. But beyond those points this is a very competently done conversion.      The first thing tha...

      A fairly standard horde map with an Osprey, not the monster that drops off endless supplies of soldiers but a big driveable func_vehicle Osprey. Fly around the battlefield and shoot soldiers. SCMapDB page Authors: CkDead Date of release: ???? Maps in package: 1 Map review of Ck Osprey (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | January 7, 2024 | 1797 characters      This is a fairly simple horde map, players get a little fortress with plenty of supplies and a big drivable Osprey we can use to fly over a battlefield of infinite human grunts. There is a sentry gun that overlooks spawn and it will absolutely shoot players the moment they appear, but there's only one and it had a reasonable amount of health. Underbarrel grenades with M16s, crossbows, grenades, and an mp5 lay on the ground to help players kill the grunts. I much prefer the crossbow. There was also a turret on top of a tower but I didn't interact with it much.      The r...

      Kill a bunch of soldiers and aliens in some generic warehouses and offices somewhere in a red brick city. It's a pretty straightforward map that requires at least two people. SCMapDB page Authors: Daniel Plant Date of release: 2004 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Civil Defence (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | January 7, 2024 | 1418 characters      Players fight their way out of an high rise, onto the streets, through some sewers, then back onto the streets. It's soldiers at first but then suddenly aliens start to appear. Progressing in the map is rewarded with enemies spawning in already cleared out areas, so respawning is fun.      Combat sections typically consist of arenas or hallways that enemies can flood into. They don't have crazy high amounts of health and we can generally gun them down pretty fast, but when we have to fight male assassins with snipers and M16s with grenades it gets tricky. There is HEV scattere...

      Inspired by 'I am Legend' players fight the eponymous Dark Seekers in an abandoned city. Solve puzzles, find a way to escape, and beware the large amounts of high health enemies! SCMapDB page Authors: Goanna Date of release: 2008 Maps in package: 2 Map review of Dark Seekers (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | January 7, 2024 | 3574 characters      The short version is that we fight a bunch of fast zombies in spooky derelict city and subway levels. The eponymous Dark Seekers are inspired by the vampire things in I Am Legend and they definitely do resemble the things I saw in the movie, bald, pale, and fast. A big list of objectives is at the start of each map and it is immensely helpful as both maps are pretty big and it can be a pain figuring out where to go.      We start off in a city and on our first steps forward we find the dark seekers, all sitting on the ground and as one they turn their heads and rise to their feet...

      There are not a whole lot of options for Christmas themed Sven maps. Step into the shoes of Santa and drop presents (grenades) down the chimneys of the good children. SCMapDB page Authors: CubicVirtuoso Date of release: 2007 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Sveney Christmas (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | December 17, 2023 | 1642 characters      Well it's that time of year again, at least it was when I wrote this, and that means it's time for Christmas. This fun holiday map has us riding around in Saint Nick's little cart thing and delivering presents to the children, and by that I mean grenades. The map description says it was made in only two hours and the result is a very short and fun map.      When we were almost at the end of blowing these poor children to kingdom come my teammate suddenly realized that we weren't getting any score for this, I feel like that would have been a big improvement and give the map more ...

      Welcome to the Tomb of Death, where you will die a lot. The map has a heavy emphasis on traps and each trap is a unique delight, which is not usually how trap themed Sven maps usually feel. SCMapDB page Authors: generic Date of release: 2008 Maps in package: 6 Map review of The Tomb of Death (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | December 16, 2023 | 5082 characters      The Tomb of Death is a very fun and cheeky map where players go through lots and lots of hallways. We get a token story attached and told through the messages of the day, there are six maps by the way. We encounter some really faint beams of light that trigger traps and at first we were doing our best to avoid them, but then we hit a point where we see a trap that has already been sprung and we try springing a trap ourselves. The vast majority of traps are one time only, we get to see a brick in the wall dissolve and then projectiles fly out and get stuck in the wall. It is r...

    Drop into a blocky city and start killing hordes of monsters. Eventually through some arcane invocations (breaking the right stuff) the enemies will cease to appear. SCMapDB page Authors: Agent Zero the Koraa Hunter Date of release: 2018 Maps in package: 1 Map review of City Rush (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | October 16, 2023 | 3543 characters      City Rush is a map that focuses heavily on a zombie horde, of the too-much-health variety. The map explicitly tells us to break a window and it takes a lot of damage and we were doubting what the map was telling us. But an early word of advice, keep hitting those windows. After that we faced a huge swarm of enemies that eventually petered out.      On map start my teammate and I ran in different directions, he tripped a cutscene that I had to watch and then shortly after I tripped a cutscene that he had to watch. I'm glad these scenes are over quickly and before zombies get here b...

      Fight waves of zombies in a city themed arena. The map description makes it seem like fighting waves of zombies is all that happens but there is a nice exploration aspect as well. SCMapDB page Authors: Searanger, EdisLeado Date of release: 2007 Maps in package: 1 Map review of City of the Dead (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | October 16, 2023 | 3192 characters      I wanted to play a scary map for October and I thought a zombie horde would fit the bill. Instead of meeting a brain dead map with a wad of zombies in an arena I was met with a small facsimile of a town with strategically placed weapons and ammo. In the second half of the map I was really scared of running out of ammo, that is the true horror.      The game starts us off in a pure white hallway that is really blinding. Then we have white text that tells us how many seconds until the round starts, it is almost impossible to see. Go through a doorway to end up i...

      This is, of course, a remake of another map by the same name. While it does offer many improvements over the original it also has an unfortunate area that we had to cheat past. SCMapDB page Author: GiGaBiTe Date of release: 2016 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Central Bunker Remake (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | October 9, 2023 | 1537 characters      The remake of the original Central Bunker does indeed offer much improved optimization and visuals. The map looks great. I didn't see a whole lot of difference in the gameplay, but I did see a much better offering of supplies. I liked the original but rated it a 5 mostly because I thought this one would make it obsolete. But unfortunately there was a section in this map where we had to get past a fan that would inevitably pull us in and turn us to paste. My teammate even looked up a review where the player eventually noclipped past that point, something we had to resort to as well. ...

      This is a nice looking map with a mixture of combat, platforming, and puzzles. A lot of the map looks well done and then there are some spots where enemies just get dumped in the level and one terrible platforming section. SCMapDB page Author: Headz Date of release: 2003 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Crood Coop (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | August 19, 2023 | 4582 characters      This is a fun map with really nice visuals, lots of explosives, and monsters with a lot of health. There are also some interesting puzzles and lots and lots of walking.      We start in a room with a turret, the map slowly fades in and we get to hear the turret deploy and target us. We are shot before we can really see or do anything and if I was alone that fight would have been ten times harder and more frustrating. We get a shotgun here and enough shells and 9mm to supply one player fully, leaving one of us to wait for it to all respawn. ...

      The main feature of Coldburn is that it is so cold it burns and players will take environmental damage in certain areas. I didn't think this mechanic would be fun but the author definitely put a lot of thought into it and made it work really well. SCMapDB page Author: Keen Date of release: 2014 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Coldburn (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | August 14, 2023 | 3187 characters      The screenshots for this map look very intriguing, and the name is mysterious too. A big part of the map is taking damage from extremely cold temperatures and I thought I would hate that mechanic but I thought it was well implemented. It's kind of like Mario games when he's underwater and eats coins to regain oxygen. Although I can't imagine more than two players having a good time on this map with the limited supply or air coins.      We start off in a room where we have to uncover the start button. There is also a se...

      Aliens have invaded a city and it is up to YOU to repel them! There is one part that needs two players to complete but a community tweak that removes that part, the map does seem balanced for two people. SCMapDB page Author: Foofinoo Date of release: 2017 Maps in package: 1 Map review of City Invasion (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | August 6, 2023 | 3892 characters      The city has been invaded by aliens! Fight your way through a factory, make some friends along the way, and have a boss battle in the sewers. The map is a straightforward walkthrough map that delivers a good looking and well done experience.      We start out with a shotgun and mp5 in addition to our usual loadout as well as armor. This is enough to take on the rest of the map and there are other weapons we can find as well like the revolver and uzi. The SAW and rpg make an appearance but they are exclusive weapons that you have to drop before changing t...

      The map description really says it all: " Nobody knows what this map is about, or why it is called g-man". It's a strange, early map made by an unknown author that found its way onto the map database and now it's getting reviewed. SCMapDB page Author: Unknown Date of release: 2000 Maps in package: 1 Map review of G-man (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | July 27, 2023 | 1248 characters      The map description sums up this map pretty well. We start off in some sort of canyon with a tunnel in front of us, there are weapons on the ground including an rpg. We go through a bend and fight some human grunts as we cross a bridge past a room with a ton of supplies. Then we fight female assassins and turrets. The map has no end.      I started noclipping around just to see if there was anything else I should see, there is a lot of Z-fighting when seen from above and I also saw a wall stretched to infinity, something happened to this...

      Fight tons of chumtoads in this very short map. Watch fun cutscenes where scientists mess up (who could have seen that coming!), fight a bunch of chumtoads, kill a boss, and celebrate victory. SCMapDB page Author: the-middleman Date of release: 2014 Maps in package: 2 (includes another map we didn't play or review) Map review of Chubby Mess (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | July 23, 2023 | 1077 characters      The map starts on a lengthy and cute cutscene where we see scientists messing around with chumtoads. One thing leads to another and we are forced to flee to the other end of the map where we find weapons and armor. We get another quick cutscene before running through a rain of giant chumtoads, it is indeed a Chubby Mess.      The goal of the map is to run back to spawn and then kill the biggest chumtoad, which takes exactly all our explosives so that worked out well. It's short, sweet and incredibly cute and endeari...